tlkriens

Certainly some talented guys in the bullpen, but they still had a 4.42 ERA, 23rd best in MLB.

Fans, media and players were shocked at what the Minnesota Twins did Thursday at the MLB trade deadline. 11 players shipped out before the deadline, including nine on July 31 alone. I haven’t been this excited about the Twins future in years. I’m probably in the bottom 1% of fans based on social media reaction. Everyone hated it. I loved it. How could you dismantle the team and lose nearly half of the 25 man roster in the span of a week? https://kornradio.com/sports/mediocre-team-trades-mediocre-players-fans-get-mad/

They trade away their top five RP, The Twins bullpen is 23rd in MLB with a 4.42 ERA.

They have a 57-73 record over the last 130 games with a 13 game winning streak. 91 loss pace. This has been a bad team for a while.

This is a perfectly fine Major League Baseball team OF: Buxton, Wallner, Larnach, Walker Jenkins, Emmanuel Rodriguez INF: Royce Lewis, Brooks Lee, Keaschall, Clemens, Culpepper SP: Joe Ryan, Pablo, Zebby, Woods Richardson, Bailey Ober, David Festa, Mick Abel, Taj Bradley Build your bullpen from the guys that don't figure it out. Signing Correa messed so many things up and derailed Royce Lewis. Move to CF and torn ACL. The Twins have a 57-73 record over the last 130 games with a 13 game winning streak. 91 loss pace. This has been a bad team for a while.

The Minnesota Twins 4-11 start is tied for the worst 15 game start to begin a season in team history. You have to go back to the 1904 Washington Senators (1-14) to find a worse 15 game start in franchise history. I'm sure at some point this team will win 4 or 5 in a row, but when do you start to make changes? The season is basically over before the middle of April. Series vs. the Mets, at Atlanta, vs. White Sox, vs. Angels. The only teams I got say they are better than right now is the Rockies and maybe Chicago.

The Minnesota Twins 4-11 start is tied for the worst 15 game start to begin a season in team history. You have to go back to the 1904 Washington Senators (1-14) to find a worse 15 game start in franchise history.

Maybe use an opener if Pablo Lopez struggles to get through the first inning.

"It's surprising that Buxton's doing as well as he is." Doug Mientkiewicz, who was a manager in the Twins minor league system, says they messed up developing Byron Buxton.

That's how to use Duran. I would have liked him to start the 8th outright, but I'll take it. More of that.

The way the bullpen was used tonight was perfection. I just wish they would do that more when leading and with Duran throwing the 2+ innings in the 7th and 8th. It shows they can do it, just not with the lead.

Who would I want to close out at least a three run lead in the 9th? Really anyone. Lopez would be fine despite his recent struggles. Stewart would be ok, although I don't really trust him. Jax, even with his struggles. I don't understand people's mindset with the "closer." Use Duran in the seven and eighth and not when your middle relievers have already blown the lead and they never use Duran when trailing. Most games are decided by the 6th or 7th. Whoever is leading after 7 innings wins the game 95% of the time? Quit using your 3rd or 4th best RP. Use your best. Most RP should be able to get the save with a 2-3 run lead and starting a clean ninth. I don't have much faith in most Twins RP coming in with two guys on and no outs in the 7th. I have faith in Duran in that situation, but not many others. Use your 3rd or 4th best RP in the 9th with a 2-3 run lead. The save is a made up stat that managers make their decisions bases on. It's really bizarre, but most are used to it by now.

All of these teams know what their record is when leading after 7 innings. You lead after 7, you win 90%+ of the time. That's why I don't know why they don't treat the 6th and 7th innings more seriously.

If Royce doesn't play, they probably score one run today.

How about next time, we use Duran for the 7th and 8th and give someone else the 9th with at least a three run lead? This isn't hard Rocco. Duran went two innings and 29 pitches and still lived. Things can be better. It doesn't have to be this hard.

Please put Duran back out for the 10th. He can throw 30 pitches. It's fine. They had the same situation a month ago in Boston in extra innings and Moran blew it.

Duran has pitched seven times this month.

Stewart had 11 walks in 14 innings. It was bound to blow up at some points. Seems like a good time to repost this. https://kornradio.com/news/twins-will-go-as-far-as-rocco-wont-let-them/

Brock Stewart isn't that guy, but they fooled themselves into thinking he was. Use Duran or this will continue to happen. This isn't tough. Use your best guy when the game is on the line and that's usually not the 9th inning. A waste.

From what I saw and watched, nobody asked if Duran was available last night or why Brock Stewart was put in for the 9th inning.

Every mention you see of Byron Buxton's transformation at the plate is inevitably followed by, "If he can just stay healthy." After years of struggles with the bat, it appears that Buxton has finally figured it out offensively, bringing the talent he showed in the minors now to the majors and what made him the top prospect in baseball. He was on pace for a historic 2021 season before a variety of injuries limited Buxton to just 61 games. Still, his .306/.358/.647 slash line from last year with a 171 OPS+ leaves fans hopefully that this is the year that Buxton can play 150 games+. If he can, Buxton will no doubt be in the MVP discussion and the Twins should be in the thick of a playoff spot. So what does a full Buxton season look like? Where would it rank among the great seasons in Twins history. Well, lets speculate and calculate what that might look like. Single-Season Twins Records WAR - Rod Carew, 1977 - 9.7 Based on Baseball Reference WAR, this seems like the most likely team record to fall if Buxton stays healthy. He put up 4.5 WAR last season in just a third of a season (61 games). Over a full season, with the defense and base running, it seems possible that Buxton could have a 10 WAR season. How rare is that? Only 3 players have had a 10 WAR season over the past 20 years; Mookie Betts (2018), Mike Trout (2012 and 2016) and Barry Bonds (2002 and 2004). Going back further, there have only been 24 individual 10 WAR seasons since 1960 among 13 different players. 150 games of Bryon Buxton in 2022 would be awfully close. Slugging Percentage - Nelson Cruz, 2019 - .639 Buxton had a .647 SLG last season in 235 at-bats compared to Nelson Cruz, who put up a franchise record .639 SLG in 2019 in 454 at-bats over 120 games at DH. Cruz obliterated the previous SLG record of Harmon Killebrew of .606 from 1961. Can Buxton sustain that power over a full season. His home run power has finally developed, hitting HR's in three straight at-bats this past weekend vs. Seattle. Given his speed, singles are stretched into doubles and triples??? may not be there. Why? I have heard it said that Buxton already has enough speed to score from second base on essentially any ball hit to the outfield, so why gamble for a triple? Buxton had 19 HR's and 22 doubles last year, but not a single triple. On-Base Plus Slugging - Nelson Cruz, 2019 - .1.031 The SLG% record and OPS will be close and tied together. Cruz's 2019 was one of the greatest offensive season in Twins history and may have gone under the radar somehow. Buxton's OPS last year was 1.067, so he is certainly capable of putting together similar numbers over at least a 60 game stretch. Defensive WAR - Kirby Puckett, 1984 - 3.3 Buxton had a 1.2 dWAR season last year and put up a career-high of 2.6 dWAR in his 140 game, 2017 season. Runs Scored - Chuck Knoblauch, 140 - 1996 This one may be tough, but second place (Rod Carew, 128 runs in 1977) may be in play. If Buxton can reach base at around a 35 percent clip and have 550 plate appearances, that equates to 192 times on base. With All-Stars Jorge Polanco and Carlos Correa hitting behind Buxton, this one may be close. In 1996, Knoblauch reached base 197 times via hits, 98 times with walks and 19 times after being hit by a pitch. That totals 314 times, which is incredible. Total Bases - Tony Oliva, 374 - 1964 Buxton had 152 total bases last season in 61 games. Over 150 games, that comes out to 373 total bases. Buxton already has 16 total bases in just four games this season to lead MLB. Home Runs - Harmon Killebrew, 49 - 1964/1969 Only three players in Twins history have had a 40 home run season; Harmon Killebrew (7X), Brian Dozier (42 in 2016) and Nelson Cruz (41 in 2019). Buxton's career high in HR's was last year with 19. At the rate Buxton has hit HR's the past few seasons, a 30 HR season should be attainable and 40 isn't out of the question. OPS+ - Rod Carew, 178 - 1977 Buxton OPS+ last season was 171. In 1977, Carew's OPS was 1.019. When factoring in the era, Buxton will likely need an OPS near 1.100 to achieve the same. Regardless of what records Buxton sets or doesn't set this season, it was been a fun start to the season for the Twins center fielder. We may finally get what every Twins and baseball fan has been wanting. A full season of health for Byron Buxton.

Did the Twins get the best RP at the deadline? https://blogs.fangraphs.com/instagraphs/twins-get-best-reliever-traded-at-deadline/

In this scenario, Thorpe is coming in before Romo, Dyson and Rogers? OK. He did give up one run in 2 2/3 inning last week to the Yankees. There are worse options.

Rogers Romo Harper Thorpe I feel confident in those guys. I feel ok about Duffey. Not a fan of May, but hopefully he can turn it around. They still have two spots on the 40 man roster to fill.

Three games, but who's counting?